Chapter 147 — The Alliance
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 8
Just as Daoist Master Daoyan was pondering whether to find an opportunity to properly test Yun Yifeng and see what he was really scheming, a stir ran through the crowd. Both Daoyan and Yun Yifeng were roused, and they looked down the mountain. Sure enough, deep among the white clouds that coiled and drifted around the towering Jietian Peak, a golden light suddenly flashed, then swiftly expanded, and within moments was approaching the summit at great speed.
The golden light floated and shifted, taking the shape of a blooming golden lotus, drifting upward through the white clouds, while strains of Buddhist chanting echoed between heaven and earth. The solemn majesty of it all inspired awe in every heart.
Daoist Master Daoyan and Yun Yifeng stepped forward together to welcome it. The golden lotus descended, flickered and swayed for a moment, then the golden light dispersed, revealing several dozen Buddhist monks led by Venerable Pucheng of the Brahma Sound Temple. Pucheng looked just as he had years before—compassionate and serene, in golden-red monastic robes, his countenance majestic. In his hand he held a string of dark sandalwood prayer beads, and a faint smile hung at the corners of his mouth.
Behind him stood his junior brother Pufang, tall and imposing, holding the "Golden Alms Bowl of the Stupa," and behind him more than a dozen senior monks and second-generation disciples of the Brahma Sound Temple, among them Fachéng, Fajìng, and other Buddhist disciples long renowned.
Daoist Master Daoyan stepped forward with a smile. "Master Pucheng, you've finally come—everyone has been waiting a long while!"
Venerable Pucheng smiled and nodded. "I have kept all you benefactors and Master Daoyan waiting. This old monk is ashamed."
At this, Yun Yifeng, standing beside Daoist Master Daoyan, laughed heartily. "Master, do you still recognize me? After so many years apart, you must not have forgotten your old friends of former days!"
Venerable Pucheng looked at Yun Yifeng, and his expression plainly faltered; even the smile he always wore faded for a moment. Then a look of admiration crossed his eyes. "Can this benefactor truly be Yun Yifeng, the old valley master of Fenxia Valley?"
Yun Yifeng laughed aloud and bowed. "It is indeed this old man. I greet the abbot."
Pucheng inclined his body in return and smiled. "I have long heard that the Way of Fenxia Valley is profound, and that the Three Yang realm of the 'Jade Book of Burning Incense' is especially wondrous. Benefactor Yun, with your steadfast will and surpassing talent, can it be that you have already reached the 'Jade Yang' realm?"
Yun Yifeng's face changed slightly, and his heart gave a jolt. The Way of Fenxia Valley had always been renowned among the righteous path for its secrecy, far less famous throughout the world than the two great sects of Canglan and Brahma Sound. At the mention of the "Supreme Mystery of the Great Ultimate" or the "Great Brahma Prajna," there was no one who did not know them. Yet on this journey into the Central Plains, meeting the leaders of the two great houses of the land, he had had his cultivation realm seen through by both Daoist Master Daoyan and Venerable Pucheng in succession. Thinking on what that implied, he could not help but feel a private suspicion stir in his heart: Could there be a traitor or spy among my own disciples?
Yet though he thought so, his face remained composed, and he smiled. "Master, your eyes are like torches. This old man's meager cultivation is not worth mentioning!" He paused, and his expression grew slightly grave. "But since you have come, Master, all is well. Now the world's living things are plunged into misery, and demons run rampant—truly a catastrophe unmatched in a thousand ages. I hope you will lead the righteous path of the world and put an end to this calamity. Such merit would be beyond measure."
Standing to one side, Daoist Master Daoyan's expression suddenly shifted slightly.